AMERICAN Airlines CEO Robert Isom has said it could take up to three years to get back to total pre-pandemic levels due to a nationwide pilot shortage and a surge in flight demand.
american Airlines, one of the United States' biggest carriers, cannot keep up with the demand. This pilot shortage is also an issue most airlines worldwide face, reports Frankfurt, Germany-based Simple Flying.
During the pandemic, air travel was limited, and there wasn't a need for crew or pilots. American Airlines had a challenging year in 2020. The airline was forced to furlough 17,000 employees in October of 2020. Included in that 17,000, 1,600 were pilots.
However, 2022 is a different year, and the airline industry is back up and running. After two tough years, demand for air travel has been extremely high. American Airlines furloughed so much staff that it struggles to hire people again.
As reported by Business Insider, American Airlines was forced to cancel 1,200 of its summer flights due to the crew shortages they face. The union for pilots at American Airlines, Allied Pilot Association, said that American Airlines is 'once again acknowledging that they cannot honour their published schedule.'
American Airlines recently offered a pay increase of up to US$64,000 to pilots to keep them flying, which the the Allied Pilots Association is not happy with.
Mr Isom said that restoring flight capacity would take roughly a year across American Airlines' main flight network. 'I think it's dependent on the supply chains of aircraft manufacturers and ultimately, pilot supply to get all back in sync,' he said.
American Airlines' main network consists of its flagship routes to cities like London, Rome, Paris, and other major European cities.
However, it looks to be different in the American Airlines regional network. Mrt Isom said that restoration to total capacity could take up to two to three years. This delay is mainly due to shortages in aircraft and crew.
'From a regional perspective, it's just going to take a little bit longer than that, maybe two or three years, to kind of get the supply chain for pilots back to where we need it to be,' Mr Isom said.
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american Airlines, one of the United States' biggest carriers, cannot keep up with the demand. This pilot shortage is also an issue most airlines worldwide face, reports Frankfurt, Germany-based Simple Flying.
During the pandemic, air travel was limited, and there wasn't a need for crew or pilots. American Airlines had a challenging year in 2020. The airline was forced to furlough 17,000 employees in October of 2020. Included in that 17,000, 1,600 were pilots.
However, 2022 is a different year, and the airline industry is back up and running. After two tough years, demand for air travel has been extremely high. American Airlines furloughed so much staff that it struggles to hire people again.
As reported by Business Insider, American Airlines was forced to cancel 1,200 of its summer flights due to the crew shortages they face. The union for pilots at American Airlines, Allied Pilot Association, said that American Airlines is 'once again acknowledging that they cannot honour their published schedule.'
American Airlines recently offered a pay increase of up to US$64,000 to pilots to keep them flying, which the the Allied Pilots Association is not happy with.
Mr Isom said that restoring flight capacity would take roughly a year across American Airlines' main flight network. 'I think it's dependent on the supply chains of aircraft manufacturers and ultimately, pilot supply to get all back in sync,' he said.
American Airlines' main network consists of its flagship routes to cities like London, Rome, Paris, and other major European cities.
However, it looks to be different in the American Airlines regional network. Mrt Isom said that restoration to total capacity could take up to two to three years. This delay is mainly due to shortages in aircraft and crew.
'From a regional perspective, it's just going to take a little bit longer than that, maybe two or three years, to kind of get the supply chain for pilots back to where we need it to be,' Mr Isom said.
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